Corridor connecting giant panda habitats from north to south in the Min Mountains,Sichuan, China

The giant panda faces severe threats from habitat fragmentation and isolation. Currently, giant panda populations have been fragmented into 30 habitat patches. The disappearance of isolated small populations and studies on the genetic diversity of various populations have shown that small isolated panda populations are at a high risk of dying out completely. Habitat fragmentation has seriously impaired the ability of the giant panda to resist climate changes and other natural disasters, such as large‐scale, synchronous bamboo blooming. The Min Mountains have the largest population of pandas in China, numbering 581 individuals and accounting for 52% of the total (1114) in China. Geographic isolation means that giant pandas in the Min Mountains are divided into two populations (population A in the north and population B in the south). Population B, which had only 42 individuals in 1989, is severely threatened by high‐density human populations and the loss of genetic diversity. However, we have identified an important corridor connecting the two populations. This paper explains the importance and the feasibility of reestablishing this corridor. Due to the special geographic locations of these two populations (two rivers block the migration of giant pandas between south and north), the corridor is the only passage for giant pandas in the region. Recent studies have also shown an increase of giant panda activity in the area of the corridor. However, vegetation in the corridor has been severely degraded. Bamboo forest must be restored in this area to provide food for the pandas during migration. The effects of human activities must be reduced in order to maintain panda habitat. We believe that a restored corridor will be of great benefit to the survival of giant pandas in the Min Mountains, especially for population B. Successful re‐establishment of a corridor will be a valuable model for corridor construction in the future.     

集体林权制度改革对四川岷山山系大熊猫栖息地的影响与对策

四川北部的岷山山系是中国野生大熊猫最主要的活动区域。调查表明，四川岷山山系12个县市有森林面积21659．6km^2，其中集体林面积10500km^2；大熊猫栖息地总面积851824．0hm^2，建有22个保护区，共有528888hm^2的大熊猫栖息地和400只野生大熊猫在保护区内得到了有效保护；集体林大熊猫栖息地面积达190064．6hm^2，占大熊猫栖息地的22．31％。集体林权制度改革加大了对大熊猫及其栖息地保护的难度。本文提出了要尽快制定《大熊猫保护法》；协调好跨区域大熊猫栖息地的保护；制定相关政策，采取置换、赎买、移民搬迁等方式，保护大熊猫及其栖息地；要落实相关政策，实施生态补偿；要发动社会力量采取建立保护小区、协议保护等参与大熊猫的保护；林下开发利用要避开大熊猫发情和孕育期，达到既有效保护大熊猫，又使林农生产生活得到可持续发展。     

Can science save the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)? Unifying science and policy in an adaptive management paradigm

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca David, 1869) is an iconic species for global conservation, yet field research has only recently advanced to the point where adaptive management is possible. Here, we review recent developments in giant panda conservation science and propose a strategic plan for moving panda conservation forward. Because of scientific, funding, political, and logistical hurdles, few endangered species management programs have embraced adaptive management, wherein management decisions are shaped iteratively by targeted scientific research. Specific threats, such as habitat destruction, anthropogenic disturbance and fragmented nonviable populations, need to be addressed simultaneously by researchers, managers and policy‐makers working in concert to understand and overcome these obstacles to species recovery. With the backing of the Chinese Government and the conservation community, the giant panda can become a high‐profile test species for this much touted, but rarely implemented, approach to conservation management.     

秦岭大熊猫局域种群的划分及数量分布

1999-2002年陕西省对秦岭的大熊猫开展了全面的专业性的第三次调查,结合2005年凤县的专项调查,应用“3S”技术,对其种群的分布状况进行分析,结果表明,陕西秦岭的大熊猫可划分为6个局域种群,提出了陕西大熊猫局域种群的观点,探讨了秦岭大熊猫局域种群的形成因素、种群的数量分布特征及动态,为陕西省有效保护大熊猫及栖息地、合理布设保护区、选择巡护监测重点区域等方面的工作提供科学决策依据。     

Effects of Sagebrush Restoration and Conifer Encroachment on Small Mammal Diversity in Sagebrush Ecosystem

Conifer encroachment in sagebrush ecosystems reduces habitat heterogeneity, niche space, and resource availability, all of which negatively affect many wildlife populations. Sagebrush restoration is recommended as a management action to mitigate conifer encroachment and restore wildlife across millions of hectares in the Great Basin. Despite this recommendation, the effects of conifer encroachment and sagebrush restoration are unknown for most wildlife species. Small nonvolant mammal communities include keystone species, consumers and prey; facilitate energy flow and ecological function; and provide important ecological goods and services. We assessed causal relationships between conifer encroachment and sagebrush restoration (conifer removal and seeding native plants) on small mammal communities over 11 yr using a Before-After-Control–Impact design. Sagebrush habitat supported an additional small mammal species, twice the biomass, and nearly three times higher densities than conifer-encroached habitat. Sagebrush restoration increased shrub cover, decreased tree cover, and density but failed to increase native herbaceous plant density. Restoration caused a large increase in the non-native, invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.). Counter to prediction, small mammal diversity did not increase in response to sagebrush restoration, but restoration maintained small mammal density in the face of ongoing conifer encroachment. Piñon mice (Peromyscus truei), woodland specialists with highest densities in conifer-encroached habitat, were negatively affected by sagebrush restoration. Increasing cheatgrass due to sagebrush restoration may not negatively impact small mammal diversity, provided cheatgrass density and cover do not progress to a monoculture and native vegetation is maintained. The consequences of conifer encroachment, a long-term, slow-acting impact, far outweigh the impacts of sagebrush restoration, a short-term, high-intensity impact, on small mammal diversity. Given the ecological importance of small mammals, maintenance of small mammal density is a desirable outcome for sagebrush restoration.     

大熊猫犬冠状病毒部分纤突蛋白基因的扩增与序列分析

大熊猫是我国特有的濒危物种，近年来人们在研究其生态环境、生理特点、繁殖性能、人工繁育等方面取得了显著成绩。然而，大熊猫疾病，特别是传染性疾病对大熊猫的生存构成了严重的威胁。     

南方红壤丘陵区3种森林群落内主要草本植物种群生态位特征

生态位是解释自然群落中种间共存与竞争机制的基本理论,对了解植物群落构建及其与环境因子的耦合关系具有重要意义。本研究以南方红壤丘陵区3种森林群落内主要草本植物为研究对象,在群落调查的基础上,运用Levins生态位宽度、Pianka生态位重叠指数和生态位相似性公式,分析了针叶林、阔叶林和针阔混交林下主要草本物种的生态位宽度以及物种间的生态位重叠与生态位相似性,并从生态位角度探讨了不同森林群落内草本种群的生长状况。结果表明,3种森林群落内草本种群的生态位宽度平均值从大到小依次为针叶林(0.572)>针阔混交林(0.508)>阔叶林(0.424),且针叶林中崖爬藤(Tetrastigma formosanum)、淡竹叶(Lophatherum gracile)、鳞毛蕨(Dryopteris sp.)以及六月雪(Serissa japonica)等草本植物的生态位宽度均大于针阔混交林和阔叶林的;生态位重叠度与生态位宽度之间不是绝对的正相关关系,生态位宽度小的物种与其他种群也可能发生较大的生态位重叠,甚至出现完全重叠的现象;针叶林和阔叶林内主要草本植物的生态位宽度与其重要值呈显著正相关(P<0.01),相关系数分别为0.758和0.918;3种森林群落内草本种群的生态位宽度与其重要值变异系数均呈显著负相关(P<0.01),相关系数分别为-0.996、-0.967和-0.963。在现阶段植被演替过程中,针叶林和针阔混交林下草本种群的重叠程度较高,环境资源存在着高度的空间异质性,群落结构仍处于不稳定状态。     

大熊猫蛔虫ITS及5.8SrDNA序列的克隆与分析

基于核糖体DNA第一与第二转录间隔序列以及5.8S序列,以分离自广州动物园大熊猫体内的蛔虫为研究对象,用保守引物NC_5和NC_2对核糖体DNA（rDNA）的内转录间隔区ITS-1,ITS-2及5.8S序列进行PCR扩增,扩增后的片段纯化后克隆至pGEM-Teasy载体,重组质粒通过菌液PCR鉴定后,对阳性菌落进行序列测定及分析,鉴定大熊猫蛔虫的种类。结果显示,目的片段总长为910 bp,2个不同样品之间的ITS及5.8S序列没有差异,与GenBank~（TM）中的拜林蛔线虫（Baylisascaris transfuga）、猪蛔虫（Ascaris suum）和人蛔虫（Ascaris lumbricoides）的ITS序列相似性分别为96.6%、82.9%和82.7%。结果表明,此次分离的大熊猫蛔线虫可能为拜林蛔线虫。     

大熊猫致病性催产克雷伯菌的分离鉴定

从2只分别患急性腹泻伴红色黏液便和急性腹泻伴严重血尿症大熊猫体内分离出3株克雷伯菌,经生化鉴定后确认3个分离株均为催产克雷伯菌。小鼠致病性试验表明3个分离菌株均具有较强的致病性,文章就催产克雷伯菌对大熊猫的致病性和致病特点进行了初步分析。     

老年大熊猫的饲养管理与医疗保健要点

老年大熊猫的数量随着圈养时间的推移在逐年增加,由此带来的老年大熊猫饲养管理问题也越发凸显出来;因此,研究老年大熊猫的饲养管理以及探寻老年大熊猫医疗保健方法,对于提高老年大熊猫的福利具有现实意义。本文对中国大熊猫保护研究中心圈养老年大熊猫的饲养管理和保健措施进行总结,阐述老年大熊猫的日常管理、医疗保健等饲养管理要点,通过个性化的饲料与饲喂方法,定期体检、早发现早诊断,定期修剪趾甲,防暑防寒,适当活动,避免应激等措施,提高了老年大熊猫的生活质量和体质,对保持大熊猫种群整体的健康水平极其重要,为逐步开展大熊猫养老研究提供了科学依据。     

大熊猫白内障手术临床研究

目的探讨大熊猫白内障摘除合并人工晶体植入手术技术。结果发现大熊猫白内障的晶体核硬度大,超声乳化吸除有困难;由于人与大熊猫眼球解剖结构有差异,人用人工晶体不适合大熊猫。结论需要对较大量的大熊猫进行无创性眼球检测,了解其眼睛的屈光状态和晶状体的屈光度,才能为研制大熊猫专用的人工晶体提供科学的依据。     

近30年四川小相岭山系植被景观变化分析

选用小相岭山系1974,1994和2002年3个时期的遥感图像数据,在实地调查的基础上,结合“优化监督分类法”将研究区域分为常绿落叶阔叶混交林、次生落叶阔叶林、针阔叶混交林、针叶林、亚高山灌丛草甸、高山灌丛、高山草甸、高山流石滩植被和高山永久冰雪带9类,并利用3S技术与景观生态学的数量分析方法,分别从景观和类型水平上定量分析了大熊猫栖息地小相岭山系植被景观在近30a发生复杂相互转化的主要表现和动态变化特征,确定各植被类型具体的变化趋势与变化幅度。结果表明,1)近30a区域内植被景观多样性与均匀度降低、连通性增强,各植被类型不再均匀地散布在整体景观中,逐渐产生优势植被类型,破碎化程度有所缓解。2)针阔混交林是小相岭的基质类型,与针叶林不断增加,并且前20a增加了14.27%,增幅最大;亚高山灌丛草甸呈先增加后减少的变化趋势;高山灌丛则呈先减少后增加的变化趋势,并且前20a下降了11.05%,减幅最大;而高山草甸30a间景观基本保持不变。研究结果不仅可揭示该山系的景观分布结构和景观变化规律,而且也为当地植被生态环境的宏观保护提供参考依据。     

圈养小熊猫繁殖初探

建立小熊猫人工种群开展繁殖研究是减轻野生种群压力,有效保护小熊猫的措施之一。为探索提高人工条件下小熊猫繁殖水平,2011年以来成都大熊猫繁育研究基地对圈养小熊猫的环境条件等进行了改进提高。通过对小熊猫的饲养、繁育环境条件的改善,小熊猫的繁育情况有了一定的提高,初步结果显示,改进后,小熊猫的发情率、受胎率没有显著变化,但其繁殖成活率从改进前的55. 5%极显著地提高到改进后的76. 26%(P <0. 01)。     

Transcriptome sequencing of black and white hair follicles in the giant panda

With the completion of the draft assembly of the giant panda genome sequence, RNA sequencing technology has been widely used in genetic research on giant pandas. We used RNA-seq to examine black and white hair follicle samples from adult pandas. By comparison with the giant panda genome, 75 963 SNP loci were labeled, 2426 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and 2029 new genes were discovered, among which 631 were functionally annotated. A cluster analysis of the DEGs showed that they were mainly related to the Wnt signaling pathway, ECM–receptor interaction, the p53 signaling pathway, and ribosome processing. The enrichment results showed that there were significant differences in the regulatory networks of hair follicles with different colors during the transitional stage of hair follicle resting growth, which may play a regulatory role in melanin synthesis during growth. In conclusion, our results provide new insights and more data support for research on the color formation in giant pandas.     

秦岭大熊猫家域的季节、性别和年龄效应

本文通过潘文石对22只秦岭大熊猫的家域观察资料为基础，获得生态年龄段和家域对数转换值等次生数据，并以次生数据为基础，对不同生态年龄段和不同季节大熊猫的家域和个体季节性迁移面积的动态特征进行定性比较分析，通过季节、性别和年龄对秦岭大熊猫种群家域动态的影响机制进行了探讨，结果发现以下新细节：（1）虽然在同一季节，大熊猫家域面积随着年龄的增长逐渐增加，但雌性个体家域面积增加不大，雄性个体也仅在夏季家域面积增加极大，秋冬季增加也不大；（2）同一生态年龄段，秦岭大熊猫家域面积：全年〉秋冬季〉夏季；（3）只是成体雄性大熊猫家域面积极显著大于雌性，但亚成体和老年个体家域面积的性别间差异不显著；（4）1～11岁，大熊猫迁移面积小且稳定，大于11．5岁后，迁移面积明显跃迂增大，保持增大趋势，但波动强度由强变弱。这表明秦岭大熊猫家域的季节、性别和年龄效应动态规律性明显。     

The Sage-Grouse Habitat Mortgage: Effective Conifer Management in Space and Time

Management of conservation-reliant species can be complicated by the need to manage ecosystem processes that operate at extended temporal horizons. One such process is the role of fire in regulating abundance of expanding conifers that disrupt sage-grouse habitat in the northern Great Basin of the United States. Removing conifers by cutting has a beneficial effect on sage-grouse habitat. However, effects may last only a few decades because conifer seedlings are not controlled and the seed bank is fully stocked. Fire treatment may be preferred because conifer control lasts longer than for mechanical treatments. The amount of conservation needed to control conifers at large temporal and spatial scales can be quantified by multiplying land area by the time needed for conifer abundance to progress to critical thresholds (i.e., “conservation volume”). The contribution of different treatments in arresting conifer succession can be calculated by dividing conservation volume by the duration of treatment effect. We estimate that fire has approximately twice the treatment life of cutting at time horizons approaching 100 yr, but, has high up-front conservation costs due to temporary loss of sagebrush. Cutting has less up-front conservation costs because sagebrush is unaffected, but it is more expensive over longer management time horizons because of decreased durability. Managing conifers within sage-grouse habitat is difficult because of the necessity to maintain the majority of the landscape in sagebrush habitat and because the threshold for negative conifer effects occurs fairly early in the successional process. The time needed for recovery of sagebrush creates limits to fire use in managing sage-grouse habitat. Utilizing a combination of fire and cutting treatments is most financially and ecologically sustainable over long time horizons involved in managing conifer-prone sage-grouse habitat.     

不同年龄大熊猫肠道菌群及其酶活特征分析

旨在探究年龄对大熊猫个体肠道微生态的影响。本研究采集大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）（J₁（亚成年大熊猫个体）、J₂（成年大熊猫个体）、J₃（老年大熊猫个体））的新鲜粪便,基于16S rRNA基因技术,测定不同年龄的大熊猫个体肠道细菌组成,分析其物理和化学特征及酶活特异性,利用冗余分析（redundant analysis,RDA）分析大熊猫肠道微生物菌群丰度与其环境因子之间的关系。结果表明：在门水平上,变形菌门的相对丰度随着年龄的增加而升高,厚壁菌门的相对丰度随着年龄的增加而降低;在属水平上,链球菌属的相对丰度随着年龄的增加而降低;淀粉酶和纤维素酶的酶活力在J₂肠道最高,淀粉酶活力在J₃肠道最低,纤维素酶活力在J₁肠道最低,蛋白酶活力在J₁肠道最高,在J₃肠道最低;厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门的相对丰度均与淀粉酶活力和还原糖含量呈正相关,变形菌门的相对丰度与还原糖含量和氨基酸含量呈负相关。研究表明,不同年龄大熊猫个体的肠道微生物菌群的表现特征不同,其肠道细菌优势菌的相对丰度与其消化酶等环境因子存在相关性;建议需对亚成年大熊猫加强饮食和生活环境管理,并可以通过添加益生菌等方式加强对老年大熊猫肠道健康的管理。     

大熊猫铜绿假单胞菌呼吸道感染继发白色念珠菌性肠炎的诊治

报道了1只大熊猫呼吸道感染,继发肠炎的病例。介绍了其病史,血液学变化和临床症状。经过微生物培养和鉴定,确诊呼吸道感染的致病菌为铜绿假单胞菌,继发性肠炎的致病菌为白色念珠菌。根据药物敏感试验结果,选用阿奇霉素和环丙沙星治愈呼吸道感染;选用氟康唑和金双歧,治愈继发性肠炎。并讨论了铜绿假单胞菌和白色念珠菌的发病原因,总结了临床用药的经验。     

野化培训大熊猫夜宿地结构特征的初步观察

2004年3～9月,我们对卧龙自然保护区核桃坪基地野化培训大熊猫个体＂祥祥＂的夜宿地组成结构进行了初步观察,并采用主成分分析（PCA）对471组夜宿地数据所涉及的7种结构因子（廊道、竹林、余竹堆、岩石、乔木、倒木、灌草丛）进行了统计分析。结果表明：在大熊猫＂祥祥＂的夜宿地结构中,＂廊道＂、＂竹林＂和＂乔木＂是最主要的3个因子。经单因素方差分析检验表明,在对地势的选择中,＂祥祥＂偏爱坡度5°～30°的缓坡竹林（P〈0.01）;环境温度增加是造成＂祥祥＂选择在树上休息的主要原因（P〈0.05）;在拐棍竹发笋期,随着活动的增加,夜宿地数量明显增多（P〈0.01）。观察结果反映出＂祥祥＂对自然环境的主动适应,对夜宿地的分析研究结果对今后的野化培训选址和培训方式提供了有益启示。     

Fragmented populations of leopards in West-Central Africa: facing an uncertain future

During recent decades, most endangered species have suffered serious population declines. Little has been documented on leopards inWest-Central Africa and as a result the efficiency of protection measures and wildlife managing practices can be questioned. Using 416 occurrences of leopards, we investigated the relationship between different environmental factors and leopard distribution to establish a baseline distribution of this feline. Leopards are mainly present in two large populations: one in a forest habitat, the other in a savanna habitat. Leopard populations were found to be associated with lions and hyaenas but they avoided human disturbances. Regarding potential breeding dispersal, the Gaussian representation showed a clear fragmentation among populations, suggesting that long-term survival of the species could be threatened. We found no area to be exempt from threats. The leopard has, however, declined less than other carnivore species and still shows viable populations. Furthermore, occurrences were found to be significantly more numerous than expected in protected areas, suggesting the relative efficiency of conservation.